Great Minds Think Alike (Jughead x OC)

Part 10

After a mere twenty minutes top, Veronica gave up. She gave a slight kick to Iris' leg under the table, not hard enough to startle her but to get her attention. When her brown eyes looked up from the cup of coffee she had been staring at for a few minutes, Vee offered her a sorry smile, and Iris knew.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go," Veronica said, interrupting the conversation though she hadn't followed it at all.

"What? You just got here," Archie argued, sounding like he genuinely cared if she was there or not, even if she had barely participated in the chatter so far.

She had reminded herself several times during the last ten minutes that it was her idea to come here and drag Iris with her. Veronica tried to convince herself that it wasn't fair to her friend to leave her behind while she cowardly made an exit, simply because she couldn't handle a bit of heartache. But as hard as she might try, she could not stand the sight of Betty being glued to Jughead a minute longer. Oh and poor Iris! How she must feel right now! They made quite the duo together, surely. Soon they will throw a pity party and eat ice cream together until the wee hours.

"I forgot that I have somewhere to be," she excused herself, not proud of this ridiculous lie. She usually did better when she needed to get out of a situation.

"Vee-" Iris started, reaching out.

Veronica took her hand in hers to squeeze it but she stood up with an apologetic pout.

"See you in class," she declared and hurried off with a quick wave of the hand, leaving them all confused as for the reason of this abrupt departure. Iris took the opportunity to get up and slid in the booth next to Archie rather than staying next to Betty and Jug.

"What's wrong? Why did she lie?" Betty asked the second Veronica stepped out of Pop's.

For whatever reason the question seemed to be directed at Iris, as if she was supposed to know what was going through Veronica's mind better than them. In this particular situation she happened to know exactly why Veronica was acting out of character, but she wasn't about to spill the info.

"I don't know, she was fine earlier," she said, earning a sigh from Betty.

She shrugged off Jughead's arm and suddenly looked a bit distraught. Archie started speculating that maybe she had something going on with her mom and she didn't want to share with everyone. While Betty and Archie talked, Iris held up Jughead's stare. She had felt him staring holes in her head for days, whenever he thought she wasn't looking or aware of his presence.

Increasingly aware that this silly game wouldn't lead them anymore, Iris desperately wanted to look away but found herself hooked. There was something in Jughead's eyes she couldn't put her finger on, despite being reasonably good at guessing what went on in his head. Though one emotion she could clearly identify was surprise – he did not expect her to stare back in defiance, but rather have Iris shy away from his prying gaze.

"Do I have something on my face Jughead?" She asked eventually, earning Betty and Archie's attention as well.

For a solid five seconds Jughead didn't know what to say so he stared in confusion, mouth agape until he muttered a dismissive 'no' and focused back on his cup of coffee. He didn't dare look up for a few minutes and blocked out the ensuing conversation, simply glaring at an invisible thing in front of him. Betty, who had once again started worrying about Veronica's early departure, had to give Jughead a nudge with her elbow when she realized he had zoned out.

Iris pinched her lips, she couldn't help but feel glad. There was no reason for her to be the only miserable person at this table. Jughead deserved to taste his own medicine.